Using Crafts to Teach Science (Science Literacy Series #2)

My 9-year-old daughter’s latest obsession is making jewelry from tiny, colorful rubber bands. I’m a firm believer in integrating science education into whatever subject interests a person. So, how could you approach this with crafting?

In my daughter’s case, she is a messy crafter. Her floor is currently littered with tiny rubber bands. This presents the perfect opportunity to teach about the theory of evolution, namely camouflage (Which rubber bands blend into the carpet?) and the mechanism of natural selection (Which color bands are the easiest to detect? If you were a predator, these prey would be caught first and wouldn’t have a chance to reproduce.).


Another on-ramp to science would be to discuss the rubber itself. What is rubber anyway? Is it an element? What’s the difference between natural and synthetic rubber? How was rubber first discovered? What else is made of rubber?

You don’t have to know the answers. You and your child can have fun looking them up together. This is the start of scientific inquiry. Scientific research sounds impressive, but all it really means is this: “Research conducted for the purpose of contributing towards science by the systematic collection, interpretation and evaluation of data...” - Turkish Journal of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation.

Scientists are simply curious people who keep asking questions long after others grow bored with the topic. If you can find the right hook to grab a person’s attention, you can make science relevant to (almost) anyone.

Maybe, instead of jewelry, the young crafter in your life likes to use a hot glue gun. This is a great time to talk about the states of matter. Why is the glue now more liquid than solid? What changed? You can introduce the idea that there are more than three states of matter, and that new states of matter are still being discovered!

Collecting natural materials, like pine cones, for crafting can be a nice chance to talk about the types of plants and animals that live in your community. How have they adapted to the climate in your area? For example, some pine trees have serotinous cones that are sealed with resin and require the heat of a fire to release their seeds! (Be sure to bake any pine cones you collect in a low heat oven [200 degrees F] for about 20 minutes before using them. This both kills any insects present and helps to open up the scales.)

Constructing new items out of (relatively clean) waste materials is a great opportunity to introduce the concepts of reduce, reuse & recycle. What happens to our garbage? Can we make crafts from household waste? I went to one training where we were instructed to build a bird out of paper scraps, pipe cleaners, cardboard, and small cans. The only new materials introduced were feathers, glue, and googly eyes. All of our craft birds were so different! This led to an interesting discussion about avian anatomy.

Have you ever used crafts to teach about science? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Science Literacy Starts at Home (Science Literacy Series #1)

I think the way we talk about science in this country is flawed. Too often, I hear people speak of science as a subject in school, rather than an integral part of daily life. If we want our children to be literate in science, we need to change the way that we approach the subject.

I once had a discussion with another mother in which I spoke of my love of taking my son to our local nature center.

"Oh," she said. "I don't do that. My husband does the science."

That statement of hers has bothered me ever since. It's not that she doesn't like science - I can appreciate that some people don't. It's that she is modelling the idea that science is somehow separate from the rest of her life - as if science is simply a concept that you can graft on at a later date.

Science needs to be integral to a child's life from the beginning. And by this, I mean that we - as parents - approach teaching our children with science literacy in mind.

1) Ask the what if questions. What if the sky was red instead of blue? What if we dropped this egg from the top of that building? What happens when we microwave marshmallow Easter candy? (Goal: encourage curiosity, thinking outside of the box)

2) Challenge popular thinking. Why does everyone love pop star of the moment? What makes him or her so special? Why should we buy that brand of toothpaste? What is that commercial really trying to sell us? (Goal: critical thinking)

3) Observe your surroundings. What makes this dancer better than the others? Is it the way he moves? The way he uses the space on the dance floor? How he carries himself? (Goal: observation skills, concentration) 

What do you think? How do you encourage science literacy at home?

• If you like this post, you might also like: We are all scientists

Fun at the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo

On Saturday, October 23, 2010, Princess and I joined the crowd at the first USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo in Washington, DC. Roughly 850 organizations from all walks of science - education, industry, government - presented more than 1,500 interactive exhibits. The range of topics was staggering. But my favorite exhibits weren't just interactive, they were off the wall.

Maggot Monet, presented by Southeastern Louisiana University's College of Science and Technology, allowed visitors to paint with live maggots. Or rather, you dipped the maggots into paint and they did the painting for you by wiggling across the page. You got to take home their maggot masterpiece.

Candy Experiments™ was another hot exhibit. Visit their online experiments page to put your Halloween candy to the test. Did you know that you can create a density rainbow using Skittles? Float the letter "m" off of your M&Ms? Make Life Savers flash in the dark? Their booth was so popular that I couldn't even get the stroller near it.


All in all, the festival was a terrific success. Families crowded around displays of sea ice, robotic arms, nanotechnology, microbiology. The 8-to-12-year-old crowd, in particular, enjoyed the many options for fun: racing model cars, building molecular models, shooting foam rockets, meeting TV stars from CSI Miami.

But the festival didn't exactly cater to the youngest scientists. Access was difficult with a stroller. Princess did get to color a kidney for the American Society of Nephrology. We won a stuffed E. coli. And she had fun playing with ping-pong ball "moons".


I hope it becomes an annual event so that we can take her brothers with us next time. As it was, I lugged home a load of science swag for them. As soon as this picture was taken, they divvied up the goods and scurried off with their newfound treasures. Dad got to keep the science-themed T-shirt. Princess and I have our memories. Well, that and the stuffed E. coli.


Photo credits: Mama Joules

We are all scientists

In the US, today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and I've been thinking about equality. I just arrived home from attending Science Online 2010, a science blogging and web communication conference, where I sat in on several talks about citizen science. In one, while discussing the lack of STEM (science, technology, engineering & math) funding for adult science literacy programs, a participant said,

"It's like we've given up on the adults."

This is tragic. Not everyone is going to work in a lab doing research, but everyone can be a scientist. We are all entitled to explore the world through science - it's our birthright. My husband, Itinerant Cryptographer, said it well:

"Everyone should have the opportunity to explore science as far as their interests and abilities can take them."

But in this country, many adults no longer participate in discussions about science. In turn, scientists feel like the general public isn't listening anymore. Both sides are growing more polarized, with the scientists amping up their insistence and the non-scientists becoming more resistant. As someone who has sat on both sides of the table -- as a working scientist and now a stay-at-home mom -- I can see why some people have completely opted out of this discussion.

On the plus side, practicing scientists are often generous with their time. They love to be asked about their work. Many share their knowledge freely with those who are interested. Frankly, I find most scientists to be nice folks when you get to know them. (And I love ecologists. I know I am biased here, but people who want to save the planet tend to be kind.)

But scientists can be an intimidating lot to the uninitiated. Some researchers are so steeped in their work that they can't imagine why someone would see things differently. They don't hesitate to tell you so -- this is their life's work and they know it well. But this passionate viewpoint can sound aggrandizing, or worse, insulting. The non-scientist (or non-practicing stay-at-home mom science blogger) might leave the conversation feeling frustrated, angry, and unheard. As John Morley once said, "You have not converted a man because you have silenced him."

Where does this leave us? It's terrible for the future of science. Scientists need to get the word out about their research. Non-scientists need to hear the message, but their concerns must be addressed by the scientific community. Nothing is going to improve if we don't all start listening to one another.

In order for this to happen, though, everyone needs to feel welcome at the table of science. Whether you are a four-year-old stargazer or a distinguished Nobel Laureate, your concerns and ideas matter. You are a part of this conversation.

If you felt unwelcome in scientific discussions before, let this be your ticket in. Please come back to the table of science. We need you here. All of our futures depend upon it.

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Photo credit: Linda Byers, National Park Service